Steve Carell buys Massachusetts general store

January 15, 2009 10:54:47 AM PST

MARSHFIELD, Mass. (AP) -January 15, 2009 --

Steve Carell is going from "The Office" to the general store.

Carell, who plays bumbling boss Michael Scott on the NBC sitcom, recently bought the Marshfield Hills General Store. The 45-year-old actor is a part-time resident of the town on Massachusetts' south shore, 25 miles south of Boston.

He put sister-in-law Tish Vivado in charge, but said customers should not be surprised to see him working there on occasion.

"I will be manning the cash register, and stocking the shelves as time permits!" Carell wrote in an e-mail to The Boston Globe.

He said the purchase was more of an "emotional investment than a business one" and an opportunity to preserve a piece of Americana.

The store's previous owner, Sherry Bechtold, said she and her husband, Bob, sold the 155-year-old building and business to Carell after being convinced he wanted it "for the right reasons." She said she wanted to make sure the new owner retained the store's character.